Suggestion on height or rifle

[Craig H]

You’re right, they’re not soldiers. From memory, they were Chieftains from African tribes. Hired more, I guess, for knowledge of area. The expedition had many African porters.

the book is an interesting insight into the times when Britain and France trying to gain dominance in Africa.

glad to hear your research into Sutton going well

[DJA]

Nyamparas.

Reckon those two are ring ins.

Askaris were the soldiers.

Wasn't he fighting for the Belgiums.
Like in that Tarzan movie with the smashing looking Ozzie chick.

They were also armed with Winchesters.

[DJA]

Guy on the left,Hamadi bin Malum, was shot in the ankle when Msiri was killed.
After placing Msiri's head on a pole for a while,they preserved it in kerosene.
Fascinating yarn.
Hamadi was extremely important to the survival of the expedition and a real hero.

[Craig H]

Amazing story, isn,t it ? Moloney saved the expedition when Stairs died.

thanks for providing information on popular rifles of the time.

i think the man on the right has a Westley Richards carbine. It looks similar tp picture you posted and web site.

also interesting that rifle is 40 inches long which means - using rifle as measurement baseline - the men are shorter than what I said above

[Craig H]

Each of the rifles was 85 mm on page = 40 inches so 1 mm = 0.47 inches.

Man on the left was 145 mn on page (top of head to foot) @ 0.47 inches / mm = 68.2 inches = 5 foot 8 inches.

Man on right ; same process, 140 mm = 65.8 nches = 5 foot 6 inches.

Sitting man (Moloney) = 60 mm (head to waist) + 30 mm (thigh - waist to knee) + 40 mm (knee to foot) = 130 mm = 61 inches = 5 foot 1 inches which is close to JTR height

[DJA]

Bantu territory

My apology for swapping and switching.
In my 70s and have been bed bound for 21 months.
Heart doesn't keep up sufficient supply to my brain.Getting better but.
Frustrating when one's IQ is within the half percentile.
Getting thoughts rattling around in the head onto paper is very time consuming.Some mistakes are obvious.

The askaris had 200 Fusil Gras.
Officers had several weapons including Winchester repeaters.
Could have picked up anything. Mercenaries had reputation for that.

Mrs Long and the author of GSG indicate he was ~ 5'3".

If you can link him, Moloney stacks up very well.

Sir John Williams is probably the closest,if you get my drift. (Apart from my bloke )

Been an interesting day.

Thank you!

.

[Craig H]

Hi Dave,
It's always great to read your comments - always insightful !
It was an interesting and productive discussion.
Have a great day
All the best
Craig

[Al Bundy's Eyes]

Unusual request ..

I’m trying to work out the height of the sitting man in the attached photo to compare to JTR witness descriptions.

He was British army. The Assistants could be in Morocco or Africa.

Any suggestions? I don't have any baseline of typical heights in that era

Alternatively, does anyone know what type of rifle that is? The length of the rifle could help estimate height.

All the best
Craig

Would it be fair to say, a factual calculation on height in this case would be largely ineffectual when compared to witness guesses at height, since your height is based on solid evidence, witness statements are based on guesswork? Stick a reasonable margin of error on the witness statements, much of the population fits.

[Bridewell]

If your man was in the British Army will his height not be recorded on his enlistment papers? An Ancestry search might turn something up.

[Craig H]

Thanks Bridewell, great idea, hadn't thought of that. Will do